Deforestation

I’m not much of an environmentalist, but I was taken aback at this:

Devastation

 

Once rainforest

Radio run

As it becoming all too common, the following posts were written a long time before I’ve been able to post them. Lots of pics in this one, too.

Just got back from of the most fun trips I’ve had. Alpha 6 had trouble with both their main radio and their spare, so to ensure they had the ability to communicate with us while trekking, we went on a courier mission. We in this case were fellow logistician Lee, PM Sam and me. We first drove to Sipitang, the nearest town to our trek route. There we settled in for the night, having had a very late lunch at KFC and a very early roti dinner with a film. Not a massive selection for vegetarians at KFC, but they do sell little buns there for the equivalent of 10p, meaning I could have a Borneo chip butty consisting of ‘cheesy’ wedges (almost, but not quite, entirely unlike cheese) and a bun.

Sam and Lee, Sipitang

The South China Sea Paradise which is Sipitang, feat. rooftops.

Next morning, an early start in order to begin driving at first light. We had a 3 hour drive to the village of Long Pa Sia, where we were due to first test and then leave the radios for A6 to pick up. The last 90% of that was off road, which I was lucky enough to drive – brilliant! I think I’d quite like a Land Rover…

Sam and the Bravo, keeping it real

Long Pa Sia

Me, wearing pendant, and apparently standing next to a dog turd.

Long Pa Sia itself is pretty beautiful as you approach it. It’s a sprawling village, which actually has more people living there than Shepreth (my home). We spent a while looking for a suitable radio location, before seeing Nooh, one of our trek guides, who invited us in for coffee and a chat – and gave us each a pendant to protect us from malevolent jungle spirits.

The legend Nooh - I didn't take these

The legend Nooh's book

We tested the radios and were preparing to leave when A6 surprised us by arriving early – it was great to see them all and enjoy a brief reunion with some of my training group, Delta 6. They’re all enjoying the trek, some a little more than others, but all were in good spirits.

Alpha 6, phase 1

On the way out, school had just finished, so we got to have a chat with some of the local kids, who ran alongside our Bravo as we left. Then it was just a 6 hour slog back to KK and Field Base, to get ready for the Loop the following day…

Long Pa Sia kids - I don't think the girl liked us

Exotic wildlife

Over the last few days I have seen leeches and a scorpion. And that’s just at our field base.

A leech, yesterday

 

A scorpion, ready for action

 

Deployment day

All of the past month has been in preparation for this. The long days, the sleepless nights, the seemingly endless counting of cans and tools, the driving up and down the state, the sweating, oh the sweating…

Seeing the six buses leave with 78 venturers aboard, waving them goodbye, knowing they were ready for the experience of a lifetime (even if some of them didn’t know it themselves, or were nervous, or even a little scared) gave me a sense of achievement I haven’t felt for a while.

Location, location, location

I currently live on Lorong Muntahan 3b. A couple of our Host Country Venturers almost cried laughing at this; after they picked themselves up from the floor, they let me know that it means ‘Vomit Street’. I checked Google translate and they weren’t kidding.

We're not even allowed to drink

The venturers are here

Just spent a couple of days training, and getting to know, some of our venturers. What a great bunch all of Delta 6 were – Cameron, Claire, Cynthia, Emma, Liv, Lottie, Nathan, Nick, Patrick, Pipo, Ruba and Steph – they all got stuck in and picked everything up so quickly. It was really good to see how they got on, and I regret not being able to trek in on their practice run in the jungle, due to having to head back to KK to sort out the food and equipment for deployment. The next time I saw them, they had been reallocated into ‘Alpha’ groups, and were getting ready to head off to build a kindergarten, a research camp and access to a conservation centre, or preparing to trek and dive. I’m sure they will all do really well.

Here comes the mushy bit, so those of a delicate disposition look away now…seriously, this will be horrible…while I was helping the venturers to learn about how to use a radio or a GPS kit, I really did learn a lot about myself in just a few days. I’m very grateful.

Did I just see that?

While we were driving to the site of our off-road training, a number of people in the street or other vehicles looked at us with open mouths and/or wide eyes. Perhaps something to do with the fact that there were four hefty men being driven by a woman – or maybe it was because the driver (and my fellow logistician) was the mighty yet tiny Lis, so to those outside the group, it probably looked like we were being driven by a child…

Sorry Lis!

Another big one

(the next few items were written some time before posting)

So, again there’s been a long gap between updates. I’ve done quite a lot since then, including my first time in the jungle, a couple of mock casevacs, and completing my off-road training.

Jungle training was intense, with a lot of learning in a short time. We all had to pick up how to use a radio, GPS, tools, first aid, and the camping equipment which provides rest and shelter in a harsh environment. Nightfall brought a musically themed team-bonding exercise, before resting in order to get up early for our practice trek.

Jungle Hotel

 

My luxurious room

 

The pool's not bad, though

The mini-trek the next day was pretty tough. Who would have thought that being unfit and generally incompetent would not be ideal for walking for hours (not many) through the jungle? Thankfully, with the help of my team I managed to make it, despite a touch of dehydration. It was then a case of putting up hammocks etc to make beds for the night, and enjoying a traditional jungle meal of vegetable chop suey curry and noodles.

Intrepid Gypsy's new outdoor bed

Next morning, we trekked back, only to be halted by a leg injury to our medic. A quick radio call to base later, we began to stretcher her out. 90 minutes and some severely elongated arms later, it was revealed that it was an exercise – and that we should only have carried her for about 50 yards before it was stopped. Stoicism is something to be admired, particularly as 5 of our team of 7 (including me) knew it was an exercise and continued regardless. Silly as that might have felt, it showed that in a real emergency it will be tough but achievable to get the medical help needed.

Later in the week, and back in Kota Kinabalu, I saw the other side of the casevac procedure and the vital role I will play as a logistician. While with the expedition medic, Simon, buying essential supplies such as electrical cabling and hair dye, we had a call over the radio about an RTA. Dropping the dye on the counter with a hasty apology, we hurried back to base – I apparently performed my job as unpaid taxi driver very well – with Simon talking the team through the process all the way, and getting the info he needed to make the call on what to do. It was only a mock, but the exercise really helped us focus on what is involved.

The projects

Here are the projects that Raleigh will carry out through its 10-week programme this summer (5-week programme projects to follow later):

Community:

Building a kindergarten in the village of Sonsogon Magandai.

Installing a gravity water feed system on Maliangin Island, to provide the islanders with a sustainable supply of fresh water.

Environment:

Constructing a satellite research station in Danum Valley, which will help provide insight into primary rainforests.

Putting up fences, boardwalks and possibly an entrance bridge to provide access to the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Increasing tourist access to the site will bring in revenue which will be used to assist conservation of the smallest bear in the world – and apparently the one which Care Bears were based on.

Adventure:

A combination of trekking around Long Pasia, near the Indonesian border, and diving in the Tunku Abdul Rahman national park. Diving usually involves coral re-planting and/or an underwater clean-up.

Mammoth post

Sorry it’s been such a long time since the last update. It’s been pretty busy here at Raleigh Borneo Field Base, which will be my home for much of the next three months. I said I’d post a picture of my new office as soon as I could, but as it’s been a while, here are five:

My desk (hot desk with three other logisticians)

 

Some of the gear

 

Tools of the trade

 

 

The new 613

 

Company car

So, I hear you ask, what has El Gyp been up to for the last week instead of keeping folks back home in touch with his adventures?

Well, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind of getting to know the job. That’s involved a fair amount of counting hammocks, tarpaulins, tools and cans of food – but also a lot of Land Rover driving and minor maintenance. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as rugged as when I lifted down the spare for a wheel change…

I also visited our jungle Base Camp for a bit of preparatory work (to be honest, mainly more counting) and getting to know the lie of the land. I’ll put some pics of that up later. Back to Field Base, and we began putting together the kit to enable us to train to support the young adults  who will work on the projects Raleigh is going to carry out this summer in Borneo.

At the beginning of this week, the rest of the Volunteer Managers arrived. Since then, we’ve been training in soft skills and bonding as a team, ready for when the Venturers get here, and practicing our radio skills. Disappointingly, I’m not allowed the call sign ‘Maverick’.

There are a couple more posts to follow, as tomorrow we all go for some training in the jungle. I have to train others how to use a GPS system. You may not hear from us again.